


time in a bottle

by grimmrific



Category: The Sisters Grimm - Michael Buckley
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:09:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25253623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimmrific/pseuds/grimmrific
Summary: For Jake Grimm, it feels like every day passes too fast. He feels like he's losing control until dinner at Mayor Charming's mansion. For whatever reason, time seems to slow down when Charming is around. Jake tells himself it's because Charming annoys him, but it's deeper than that. Will he confront these confusing feelings, or will he run out of time?
Relationships: Jacob Grimm/Prince Charming (The Sisters Grimm)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by @gayunclejake on tumblr! Hope u like it!

The pink phone on the wall started ringing. Jake jumped, realizing that he had been reading his great grandfather's journal in a trance. He looked at the clock that hung on the wall: 7 o'clock at night. Jesus, time really does fly. _Ticktockticktockticktock._

"Jacob, would you please get that for me?" asked Relda Grimm, who was presently occupied with setting the table for her famous squid ink spaghetti. She seemed to be unaware of the fact that just a moment ago, he hadn't even been conscious.

Jake rose from the couch and walked groggily over to the receiver. "Hello?"

"Consider this an olive branch to you and your entire family," the voice on the other line said stiffly. "Snow and I are... _welcoming_ you to dinner at the mansion."

"Who is this?" Jake asked sarcastically. He was amused at the mayor's tone, and the way he spat out the word "welcoming" like it was an expletive. 

"You know full well who it is, don't try to be cute."

"You thought that was cute? Billy Charming, you make me blush."

"That's Mayor Charming to you. And I'd appreciate it if you put someone else on the phone. I feel like Relda wouldn't be giving me this kind of grief. Or perhaps the little chubby one. She seems sincere."

"Sorry, they all died."

"I'm serious, Jacob."

"That's Mayor Jacob to you."

Charming gave an exasperated sigh. "The dinner is on Friday at 6:30 pm. Formal dress code. Be there, or don't." He hung up.

Jake grinned smugly and put the phone back on the hook. 

"Children, dinner!" Relda called out. Puck flew into the kitchen at superhuman speed. Sabrina and Daphne trailed behind. 

"You'll never guess who that was on the phone, mom," said Jake, taking his place at the table and digging in. It took a while to get used to his mom's cooking, but after years and years of conditioning, he could proudly say that he found squid ink spaghetti... passable. Puck and Daphne however, slurped away at the thin, black noodles with gusto. Sabrina eyed them with disgust. Jake gave her a look that said _, Hang in there._

"I assume it was the great Mayor Charming, judging by your respectful tone," Relda smiled. 

"He and Snow are inviting us to dinner on Friday."

All three kids groaned.

"So you mean, Snow is inviting us, and Charming is just gonna be sitting there giving us dirty looks the whole time," replied Sabrina.

"Correct," said Jake, thinking about the way Charming scowled and his eyes narrowed whenever he saw the Grimms.

"Well, however we feel about Charming, we're still going," said Relda. "That's called being the bigger person."

Puck shook his head. "Man, good guys are weird. Someone they hate invites them to dinner, and they _still_ go. Unless we're gonna be packing weapons for a surprise ambush, I don't see any point in going."

"For once, I agree with Puck," grumbled Sabrina, poking at her food. Puck eyed her smugly and wiped his ink-covered mouth with his sleeve.

"I think that if we show Charming how nice we are, he'll have no choice but to like us," Daphne said slowly. "So Granny's right."

Jake could practically see the gears turning in her mind as she came to this conclusion, and he had to cover his mouth to stop from smiling. Kids are hilarious. 

"Did he say when it was?" Relda asked him.

"Friday at 6:30 pm. Formal dress code."

"Well, I suppose I can buy the girls some new clothes, and..." She stopped talking when she looked at Puck. He noticed that everyone was staring at him and stopped chewing.

"... What does 'formal' mean?"

\---

Later that night, Jake rifled through the clothes hanging in his closet, looking for something presentable. Every time he found something, it was the same. The outfit would look like it could work, but then he would notice a pattern he didn't like or a color that was out of place, and he would toss it in the reject pile. It was the first time in his life that he cared too much about his appearance to just pick an outfit at random.

When the height of the reject pile was approaching his own, he suddenly became very aware of how concerned he was with his outfit. And how far in advance he felt he had to plan this out.

From down the hall, he heard the sound of Puck and Sabrina arguing about something on television. He heard the sound of Elvis trotting down the hall, and of Relda baby-talking him as she fed him leftovers. Everyone else had already moved on from the subject of the dinner. He shamefully started retrieving outfits from the pile and hanging them back up one by one, even though nobody had been watching.

 _It's probably because Snow is gonna be there_ , he thought. _She was my childhood crush, so that must be it._ _And I also wanna rub my awesome sense of style in Charming's stupid face. Yeahhh. That's it. Nailed it._

He flopped down on his bed and started thinking about Snow. _Why's she even dating that jerk? I don't get it. It's like he knows how attractive he is and doesn't want anyone to forget it. At least she's modest about her looks, but that guy just won't--_

_\---_

"Stop it," he said to Puck, who had been cleaned up and forced into a formal suit and was protesting by chewing as loudly as possible. Everyone knew Puck didn't like salad, especially the kind of fancy-schmancy garden salad that Charming's staff had served them, so it was clear that he was only eating it to annoy everyone with the noise. Charming glared at him from across the table. _It's crazy how fast a week passes_ , thought Jake.

Jake's gaze met Charming's and he gulped. Those blue eyes were piercing. _It's like he wants you to see how blue they are. What a jackoff._ He took a bite of salad and chewed slowly. 

They were seated at a long golden table with a white tablecloth draped across its length. The lights of the chandeliers overhead glinted off of the golden candlesticks and glass centerpieces placed strategically every foot or so. Against the farthest wall was a grandfather clock that Jake kept eyeing. It looked more expensive than their entire house.

The Grimm family was out of their element, and Charming knew this. While Snow chatted with Relda, attempting to make her and her family feel as welcome as possible, Charming looked smugly from person to person, no doubt deconstructing their nervous tendencies in his head. But somehow, Jake felt that Charming looked at him the most. _Asshole._

Charming snapped his fingers and Mr Seven appeared next to him. "Champagne for the lady and I."

He was about to send him away when Snow interjected, "Would our _guests_ like anything?" She gave Charming a meaningful look.

"Diet coke," Puck said immediately.

"Diet?" asked Sabrina, eyebrows raised.

"I'm watching my figure," he explained, patting his stomach.

After everyone ordered, Charming sent Seven away. He made brief eye contact with Jake and something in his eyes flickered, but then he quickly looked away. _Did that just happen?_

Jake searched Charming's face for any indication that he hadn't imagined that, but his expression had returned completely to its usual bitter state. He was so bewildered that he almost missed Daphne asking Snow, "Are you and Charming daaaating?"

Snow blushed. "It's an on and off type of thing," she said, waving her hand. "But as of right now, we're just good friends."

Jake felt a touch of relief. _Good. Nobody should date this guy except.... I don't know. Nobody._

"Friends that host dinner parties together?" asked Sabrina.

"We don't really... like labels," Snow stammered.

"What she means is that our relationship is none of your business," Charming said bluntly.

 _Why does he keep looking at me?_ Jake thought with rising suspicion, before something else scrambled into his awareness. The iced tea that he had ordered was already at his side, and his dinner was not only in front of him, but had gone cold. _How long have I been thinking about this prick? Well, maybe if he wasn't looking at me so much with those stupid blue eyes I wouldn't-- Enough._

He shook these thoughts out of his head. From now on, no more thinking about Charming. Part of him wished he had brought his overcoat full of magical items, so that he could distract himself with Merlin's Wand or the Nome King's Belt.

 _Magic items beat magic people by a long shot_ , he thought. He looked again at the grandfather clock: 6:55 pm. _How has it only been 25 minutes?_

"Oh yes, Jacob was on the debate team when he went there," Relda told Snow. Jake snapped out of his daze at the mention of his name. 

"It really is a shame they're getting rid of it," said Snow glumly. "I lobbied for them to get rid of something else instead, but I suppose elementary school admins just don't see the importance of healthy debate."

Charming spoke suddenly: "So, Jacob Grimm thinks he can debate."

There was an expectant silence. Jake avoided looking at him. A debate with Charming didn't sound particularly pleasant, especially at an event like this one. The mood was suddenly very tense.

"Well, Jacob hasn't debated in years," laughed Relda, trying to de-escalate. 

"But I know something he'd be willing to argue about," said Charming. "How do you feel about Everafter-human relationships?"

On the grandfather clock, the distance between ticks seemed to get longer and longer. Jake looked up at Charming and could tell from the look on his face that he had him right where he wanted him. _Tick. Tock. Tick._

_Tock._

_Tick._

_Tock._


	2. Chapter 2

Jake felt as though those blue eyes could drill right through his head. _Everafter-human relationships? What is he getting at?_

Snow looked confused as well. They all sat in silence until Charming suddenly laughed.

"Jacob, I see the way you've been looking at Briar Rose lately," he said with a smirk. "Now tell me, how on Earth do you think that's going to work out in the long run?"

_Oh thank god. I thought... I don't know what I thought. It's about Briar. Of course, how could I be so stupid?_

"Well," began Jake, his voice cracking. "When dating a human, an Everafter is faced with a choice. Either outlive them, or age with them. In this way, it allows more temporal freedom than a relationship between two humans. And as for the age difference, it's too outlandish to apply any sort of usual, uh, mindset..."

His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat. Charming scoffed.

"'Temporal freedom'. An interesting concept. Is that something that is important to you, Jacob?"

There was something about the way he said "Jacob". Maybe it was the English accent, but it made Jake feel all funny inside. _I assume this is what it feels like to truly hate someone._

"What does 'temporal' mean?" Daphne asked Sabrina quietly. 

"It means, 'relating to time'," Sabrina whispered back.

Charming was still looking at him, awaiting a reply. _Tick. Tock._

"Well, of course it is. And I assume it's important to you, too," Jake replied coolly. "But, I don't suppose you've ever tried dating a human?"

His calm tone didn't reflect the chaotic, jumbled nature of his thoughts. _Why the fuck are we talking about this? Neither of us are officially in a relationship. What a random subject to bring up at dinner. Unless he has a-- no, of course he doesn't. You really need to work on your cockiness, Jake._

"No, I never have tried it," Charming said, stirring his champagne with his index finger. "And I never will, unless you can convince me otherwise. You're reportedly a master of debate, after all."

"I never said that," Relda tittered nervously, but everyone's eyes remained on Jake and Charming. Except for Puck's, which were glued to his plate as he licked it clean.

"Humans have a different outlook on life," Jake said simply. "It's healthy to know and accept other people's viewpoints."

Charming nodded slightly, narrowing his icy blue eyes and touching his index finger to his lip slightly. Jake gulped. Suddenly, Charming turned to everyone else and his face broke into a smile.

"That reminds me, I should show you all the view!" he stood up, and everyone else did the same.

As they trailed behind him in a line up the long golden staircase, Jake couldn't help but feel like that "debate" was actually a test. And that he had been on the verge of passing. _What does this guy want from me?_

Charming led them to a balcony that overlooked a good portion of the city. At nighttime, a heavy fog hung over the sleepy town of Ferryport Landing, its twinkling lights shining through like small holes being poked through a thick grey blanket. They almost resembled the stars in the night sky in their brilliance.

Relda gasped and began gushing about how beautiful the view was. The two girls went to the edge and looked down in awe, and Puck flew upward to get an even higher vantage point. Even Jake had to admit that it was probably the best view in town.

"This makes a compelling case for involving yourself in local government," said Charming proudly. "Maybe someday you too could acquire a view like this."

He paused.

"Well, maybe not _you_ people necessarily, but I'm sure you get the point I was trying to make."

Relda took this as good-natured teasing and laughed, along with Snow. Puck was zipping around in the sky, looking at it from different angles. When he finally floated back down to the balcony, he said, "Meh. I've seen better." Sabrina and Daphne stuck their tongues out at him.

"I hope you all enjoyed the meal, but it is at this point that I must ask you to leave," Charming said. "Trust me, it devastates me to send you all away like this. Now please leave the premises at once."

The group reconvened. As they marched in single file back down the narrow spiral staircase, Jake felt a hand on his back and his breath hitched. 

"You looked like you needed some air," Charming said quietly. He then removed his hand and walked briskly to the front of the line, barking orders at people like nothing had happened. 

Jake was mystified. When Charming had touched him, it felt like an electric shock. The spot on his back that he had touched still felt hot. _I shouldn't be thinking about this so much..._

Jake was last in line as his family filed out the front door. Charming stopped him on his way out. 

"You brought up some interesting concepts during our little debate today, Jacob," said Charming decidedly. "If you ever feel like a rematch, call this number. I'd like to hear more about this thing you call 'temporal freedom'."

He handed Jake a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Jake took it speechlessly.

"Now, goodnight."

\---

Jake closed his bedroom door and stood there silently, turning over the slip of paper in his hand. _If that asswipe Charming thinks I'm gonna call him voluntarily, he's got another thing coming._

He walked over to the wastebasket next to his bed. He stood over it with the piece of paper. _Here's what I think of your bullshit "debates",_ he thought triumphantly.

After a few seconds of staring into the white, crinkly, cavernous abyss of the wastebasket, he stuffed the paper back in his pocket. _You know what? No. Too easy. If I held onto it, that'd show him._

 _Show him what exactly?_ asked a voice in his mind.

 _That I'm, you know --_ he searched for the words to mentally justify his actions -- _true to my word._

_What word? You didn't say anything._

_Quiet, you._

Even though he didn't want to, he kept thinking about the way Charming was staring at him during dinner. About the way his blue eyes pierced his soul with their narrow gaze. About the way his hand had felt on his back. About the way he said _Jacob_. About the way he swirled his champagne with his index finger. About the way he looked descending down that narrow staircase, and how his shoulders were twice as broad as Jake's entire body. About the way his muscular jaw had clenched as he gave Jake his number. _I need a distraction._

He exited the room and began downstairs. When he reached the kitchen, he was surprised to find Mr Canis making himself a sandwich. He had stayed home due to being sick, and also due to the fact that he and Charming can't be in the same room without ending up at each other's throats. He sensed Jake behind him and turned.

"Do you need something, Jacob?"

Jake shook his head. "No, I'm just going to visit Mirror."

"You look like there's something troubling you."

Jake gave a forced laugh. "Nope. Just tired, that's all."

Canis hesitantly turned back around and continued assembling the sandwich. Jake headed to Mirror's room and went inside.

"WHO DARES--"

"Mirror. Shut up."

"Oh, Jake, it's you. What do you need?" asked Mirror. His scary visage melted away and there he was, sitting in a chair and reading a magazine.

"I, uh," Jake stammered, shifting a bit. "I wanna take a look at the Hall of Wonders. Explore a bit, for old time's sake."

Mirror's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I've just had a long day," sad Jake, unconvincingly.

"I heard you guys had dinner with Charming," Mirror scoffed. "That must have been interesting. Sometimes I feel lucky that I'm stuck in this mirror."

Jake laughed. "Yeah, he was... acting kind of funny. The things he said sounded friendly on the surface, but there was a weirdly competitive tone to it all. Almost like he was challenging me with every word he said." 

"Challenging you to do what?"

"I don't know," Jake admitted, running his fingers through his hair with exasperation. He thought of the paper in his pocket. _Should I show it to Mirror? No, out of context it'll seem... like something it's not. Or is it? God, I'm so confused._

"Jake?"

Jake looked up at Mirror. "What? What is it?"

"You've been standing there mouthing silently to yourself for a while."

Jake's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I've been a mess. It feels like time has been getting away from me."

"Oh hon, you're clearly in crisis. Tell me what's been troubling," Mirror said sympathetically, crossing his legs. 

"It's Charming," said Jake finally. He told Mirror about the debates, about the way he looked at him, about the way he touched him.

He then produced the paper from his pocket and showed it to him. Mirror looked at it for a few moments, and then back at Jake. The look on his face said it all. Jake couldn't deny it anymore. It was clear what message Charming was trying to send.

"That bastard's in love with me."


	3. Chapter 3

As Jake lay in bed that night, he felt a new emotion on top of everything else: anger. _That motherfucker loves me. That's why he's been playing these crazy mind games, he's trying to mix me up inside! And he thought I wouldn't notice. That asshole._

 _What if you were already mixed up inside?_ asked a voice in his head.

 _I don't know what you mean,_ he thought back.

_You're just as crazy about him as he is about you._

_Uh, maybe crazy about hating him._

_You're in denial._

He considered calling Charming right that second and giving him a piece of his mind. After all, it was his fault he couldn't sleep. He reached over to where his phone was on the bedside table and flipped it over: 5:00 am. _Already? Ugh._

He pulled the covers back and sat up, rubbing his temples. He had been thinking about that asshole Charming for over eight hours. In the distance, he could hear the sound of Puck watching TV. It was a familiar sound -- one that he associated with the early hours of the morning -- and it calmed him down a bit.

He stood up, yawning, and started to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He descended the stairs to find that Puck was watching some sci-fi show on the oldies channel. 

"I'm surprised you can watch this cheesy schlock," Jake said casually as he pulled some plain white bread out of the pantry.

"I'm thousands of years old," replied Puck. "It's nostalgic for me."

Jake smeared a thin layer of cream cheese on the bread as the characters on television began talking in urgent voices.

"I believe that this machine could have disastrous consequences!" exclaimed a man in a lab coat.

"What does it do, doc?" asked a rugged man in a leather jacket.

"We believe that this machine, if used properly... could stop time," the man in the lab coat said dramatically. An equally dramatic musical cue punctuated the end of his sentence.

Jake scoffed. "Wish I had that."

"Why?" asked Puck, wrinkling his nose. Jake could tell that he didn't understand. No Everafter could. For them, time always stood still. He began eating his meager sandwich -- he didn't feel like anything heavy -- and the next thing he knew, the climax of the episode had arrived.

"None of you can take this away from me!" yelled the female antagonist with a light transatlantic accent. "If I freeze time, I can be with my love forever! And none of you can stop me!" She gave a horribly acted chuckle. Jake rolled his eyes, and thoughts wandered to Charming once again.

 _Maybe I will give him a call_ , he thought. _He likes me? Okay! I can work with that. I'm gonna be as obtuse as possible, and it's gonna break his tacky, gold-plated heart._

The credits of the episode began to roll. Jake got up and walked over to the phone, pulling the crumpled paper out of his pocket and punching the numbers one by one into the phone.

"Hello?" answered Seven.

"This is Jake Grimm. I want to speak with Mayor Charming."

"I'll go get him."

Jake suddenly realized that he had no plan. _Why didn't I think about what I was gonna say?_

Charming picked up. "I must admit, I didn't expect you to call."

"Well, here we are," said Jake with mock confidence. "And I know exactly what you've been trying to do."

"Oh, really? What have I been trying to do?"

"Send a hint that you have a big gay crush on me!"

After a short pause, Charming replied, "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds childish."

"Aha, so you admit it! Well, I have news for you buddy, I'm not interested!"

"Are you sure? You're the one that called back."

"... Well, that's just because I... you... I wanted to give you a piece of my mind!" Jake stammered.

"Yes, that sounds very convincing," said Charming.

 _I can hear his shit-eating grin through the phone_ , Jake thought with frustration.

"I'll tell you what," Charming continued. "I'm going to grab a coffee at 3 o'clock tomorrow, at that place where Briar works. It's rare that I don't just have Seven do it for me, but I think for you I can make an exception."

"Oh, well now you're just teasing me," Jake scowled. "I already told you I'm not interested."

"If you're not interested, don't show up. If you are, I'll be waiting." And with that, he hung up.

Jake slammed the phone back on the hook and ran his fingers through his hair, his heart palpitating.

\---

"He invited you on a date?" asked Mirror, eyebrows raised.

"I don't know what happened!" cried Jake. "I called him up to confront him, but he was so unfazed that it somehow just... led to that!"

"Well, are you gonna go?"

Jake hesitated. 

"I see."

Jake huffed. Sometimes it bothered him how Mirror knew exactly how to push his buttons. 

"Mirror, this is gonna sound crazy, but when he invited me to coffee, I almost felt... relief? It was like the big payoff to everything that happened in the past week, and in a weird way, I'm sort of glad that he did it. It sounds wrong, I know, but..." His voice trailed off.

There was a brief silence before Mirror spoke. "Well, I won't judge you, Jake. I've been around a long time--"

Jake held up his hand. "Stop."

"And it's okay--"

"Stop."

"To be in love."

Jake's heart sank. He couldn't even deny it; hearing that word come out of another person's mouth made it all the more real. He was in love with Charming, and Charming was in love with him. And tomorrow, they would have to figure it out.

It was all moving too fast.


	4. Chapter 4

_It takes a lot of time to accept yourself for who you are. Time that I don't seem to have._

Jake was thinking nervous thoughts as he stood outside of the coffee shop in the bustling downtown area, messing with the buttons on his coat. Clouds hung over Ferryport Landing, and the strong winds swept his hair to the side as he searched the area for Charming. It was 3:05, and he still hadn't shown.

 _I can't believe I did this. I should just go home and forget this crazy week happened_ , he thought as he shivered from cold. _How could I be so stupid? He's been messing with me this whole time, and I dragged my family into it, and I dragged Mirror into it, and--_

"Jacob."

Jake spun around to see Charming dressed in a tight-fitting polo shirt and pants. He almost didn't recognize him without the suit, until he looked up and saw his blue eyes and chiseled features. 

"Oh my god. You're uh, here."

Charming nodded, and it was clear that he was nervous too. He was fidgeting slightly, and kept looking to the side. He was out of his element: there were no servants around, no one to intimidate, no one to impress. This made Jake feel a little better.

"Well, shall we?" he said, offering Charming his arm and nodding towards the entrance.

Charming looked uncertainly at the coffee house. "I don't feel much like coffee," he sniffed. 

"Oh." _He came up with coffee completely on the spot, didn't he?_

"Would you like to go to an art museum instead?"

"An art museum. Wow. Look at you."

Charming looked at him, aghast. "Do your people not go to museums? But how do they appreciate art?"

Jake laughed at how panicked he was at the thought of museums being for the rich. "I was teasing. I'd love to go."

Charming smiled. "It's only four miles away, a short walk from here," he said. "I trust you'll be able to keep up?"

Jake looked Charming up and down. _This is a does-cardio-every-day kind of build_ , he thought anxiously. _I don't actually know if I can keep up._

"I sure can!" he declared with pride.

Four miles later, Charming stopped outside of the gallery and looked back at Jake, who was panting while trudging slowly behind. Charming smirked slightly.

Jake noticed his smug expression and laughed. "You asshole. You did that on purpose."

Charming chuckled and held the door open for Jake, who walked in at a leisurely pace after catching his breath. 

They entered to find that the museum was holding a Salvador Dali exhibition. Initially, Jake assumed that they were copies, but was surprised to find that they were all 100 percent authentic. All of his best works, hung in rows against the white wall of the Ferryport Landing Museum of Art. Charming was looking out at the exhibition with pride.

"How on Earth did they afford to get all these?" Jake murmured in amazement, resisting the urge to touch each one and feel the textured brush strokes that Dali himself made all those years ago. 

"I fund this museum directly," Charming replied. "Anything to spark artistic literacy in this hick town."

"Artistic literacy on par with yours, I assume?" Jake teased in a fake British accent.

"I was around when a lot of them were painted," said Charming with a small smile. "It adds a personal touch."

They began studying each work of art, walking slowly along the row of world famous paintings, and Jake shook his head.

"Sometimes I feel like all those trinkets we have in the Hall of Wonders are novelties-- art like this is the real magic."

"Oh Jacob, now you're just flattering me."

They kept moving along at a steady pace until Jake stopped suddenly, focusing all of his attention on the painting he saw before him. It was one that had utterly transfixed him: Dali's most famous work, _The Persistence of Memory_.

"I always thought this one was overrated," Charming criticized, gesturing to the painting's extravagant gold frame that indicated its value. "The melting pocket watches symbolizing the relativity of time is too obvious of a choice, in my opinion."

Jake said nothing. Charming glanced over at him to see that he was visibly moved by the piece to the point of introspection. Clearly, it had resonated with him on a deep, personal level. Charming looked back at the painting and reevaluated it silently, cocking his head.

"But, then again, with a bit of healthy debate, I could reconsider," he said finally, slipping his hand into Jake's.

Jake looked down, and then back up at Charming. Something visceral in him wanted to pull his hand away, but instead he decided to look back up at the painting, enjoying the feeling of Charming's hand in his.

\---

When they left the museum, it was raining. Charming sighed.

"Well, there goes the park," he said, pulling his cellphone out of his pocket and punching a few buttons. "I'm calling a limo."

"Where are we going?" asked Jake.

"I thought we could go back to the mansion and listen to some records. Maybe drink a little wine. Do you drink?"

"Nope," Jake said sheepishly. "Never could find the time."

Charming stared at him for a moment before breaking into laughter. "You sure are odd, Jacob." 

Jake smiled slightly and shrugged.

"Hello? Seven? Send a limo over at once," ordered Charming into the phone. Jake gave him a stern look. "Er... please."

They waited in the rain. It was silent for a few minutes until Jake spoke up: "How about that debate?"

Charming grinned. "About Everafter-human relationships, or about _Persistence of Memory_?"

"Whichever you want."

Charming thought for a moment. Jake took note of the fact that whenever Charming concentrated, his brows would furrow and he would look at the ground. His mouth would move slightly, as if reciting some silent scripture. And also, of the fact that it was very cute.

"How about an Everafters vs. humans debate?" he said finally. "It doesn't necessarily have to be about relationships."

"Easy. Humans can leave town," said Jake with a smile.

"Low blow."

Jake laughed. "It's alright, it's alright. Humans have a limit to their lifespan, so it cancels out."

Charming shook his head. "The fact that life ends is what gives it meaning. I've never understood why immortality is so desirable to so many people."

"It gives you time," said Jake immediately. "When your time on this Earth is limited, you always feel like you're running out of it."

Charming turned to him, saw his grave expression, and knew immediately that he was speaking from personal experience.

Jake saw Charming's expression change and could tell that something had clicked. He was realizing something about Jake that he just couldn't place before. A desperation, a monomania, a perpetual race against the clock.

He walked towards him.

_Tick. Tock._

With one hand, he swept his blond hair out of his face.

_Tick._

They looked at each other a moment.

_Tock._

Their lips met.

\---

It was evening -- not so late that it was pitch black, but late enough to where the sky had a faint purple glow and you could just barely see the stars overhead. They were dancing slowly to a record in the parlor of Charming's mansion, gazing at each other. Charming had drank a couple glasses of wine, but Jake hadn't had anything. He didn't need anything. There was no awkwardness to the way they danced; it just worked. Every once in a while one of them would stumble, and the other would laugh, but there were no words required.

Jake was no longer afraid. He didn't have to run anymore. This moment, however fleeting, felt lasting, golden, evergreen. Like it could be lived in forever. As flames crackled in the fireplace and raindrops pitter-pattered softly on the windows, the record spun steadily on the phonograph:

_If I could save time in a bottle_

_The first thing that I'd like to do_

_Is to save every day, till eternity passes away_

_Just to spend them with you_

**A/N:** You've reached the end! Thank you to @gayunclejake on tumblr for commissioning this, I had a lot of fun writing it! And thank you to anyone else out there who read this whole thing, I hope you all liked it :) This was my first ever commission, so I was really nervous, but I worked really hard and I think it turned out pretty good! Hopefully I get to do another one soon! See you in the next one everybody <3


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